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Zimmermann, an Australian "fairy-style" brand that is good at creating a holiday atmosphere, is coming to Beijing to open a store. On August 20, a Beijing Business Daily reporter visited and found that Zimmermann was fencing off the South District of Sanlitun Taikoo Li. The brand has already opened two boutiques in Shanghai and Shenzhen. In recent years, domestic and foreign designer brands have been pouring into and cultivating the Chinese offline market. Industry insiders pointed out that designer brands generally do not have the marketing capabilities of big brands. If they want to break through, they need to go through various planning and event marketing, and they must ensure the uniqueness of product design and the high-end brand tone. Whether or not they can solve the problem of customer acquisition has become the key to the success of designer brands opening stores.

First store opened in Beijing

When it comes to fashion brands that represent Australian style, it is hard not to think of Zimmermann. This designer brand from Australia has recently set its sights on Beijing and will open its first store in northern China in the South District of Sanlitun Taikoo Li. It is currently undergoing enclosure. From the outside, the store occupies two floors and may be the largest store in China. Previously, the brand has opened two boutiques in mainland China, one in Shanghai Qiantan Taikoo Li and the other in Shenzhen MixC.

Zimmermann was founded in 1991 by sisters Nicky Zimmermann and Simone Zimmermann. In 1996, Zimmermann made its debut at the Australian Fashion Week. Originally only offering tops and skirts, Zimmermann gradually began to launch a full range of ready-to-wear collections, with prices ranging from 5,000 yuan to over 10,000 yuan. According to the official website, in addition to the upcoming boutique in Beijing, the brand currently has 68 physical stores around the world, and is sold through department stores such as Harrods and David Jones, as well as e-commerce platforms such as Net-A-Porter. In China, it has also entered online channels such as Tmall Luxury, WeChat Mini Programs, and Xiaohongshu, with the number of fans of Zimmermann's Tmall flagship store exceeding 670,000.

Last August, Zimmermann was acquired by the US private equity fund Advent International. According to the terms of the acquisition, Advent International will acquire the majority stake of Zimmermann from Style Capital, and Style Capital and the Zimmermann family will continue to be important minority shareholders. The founder and the current management team of the brand will continue to lead the brand. According to the plan, Zimmermann will double the size of its existing stores under the guidance of Advent International, while strengthening its online business and omni-channel layout. According to Bloomberg, Zimmermann's overall valuation is about US$1 billion.

Regarding questions such as the scale of Zimmermann’s Beijing stores and future plans for the Chinese market, a Beijing Business Daily reporter sent an interview outline to the brand via email, but no response was received as of press time.

Develop offline

Not only Zimmermann, many designer brands have been "flooding" the offline market in recent years. The "Research Report on the Development of Chinese Designer Brands" (2023 Edition) shows that the number of newly opened stores of Chinese designer brands has increased year by year in the past four years (2020-2023). The number of newly opened stores in 2023 has more than doubled compared with the same period in 2020, and increased by 10% compared with the same period in 2022. High-end shopping malls have become a common choice for designer brands. Zimmermann's boutiques chose Taikoo Li in Shanghai and MixC in Shenzhen; Ganni entered Taikoo Li in Sanlitun, Beijing and Deji Plaza in Nanjing; American Vintage's first independent store in mainland China opened in Shanghai Reo Department Store; The Row's first independent store in China opened in Chengdu SKP.

With the help of capital, the offline expansion of designer brands continues. Renzo Rosso, chairman of OTB Group, which owns many high-end designer brands, said that in the eight months ending at the end of August last year, the revenue of its brands such as Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni and Jil Sander in the Chinese market more than doubled year-on-year. The group plans to invest one-third of its global investment in the Chinese market in the next three years, double the number of stores in China within two years, and continue to explore the commercial potential of second-tier cities.

The director of Yaoke Research Institute believes that "at present, international designer brands are entering China in large numbers and have become an important force in the Chinese consumer market. Opening appropriate stores is a reasonable strategy, but at the same time, attention should be paid to store digitalization."

Zhang Peiying, an expert in the fashion field, pointed out that opening offline stores is the only way for Zimmermann and other brands to move from niche brands to well-known brands. It allows customers to experience the products more intuitively, and offline stores can also interact with online stores. "When opening offline stores becomes a development trend, the market will also face more competition. Brand positioning, brand image maintenance, and channel and supply chain management are all big tests for niche brands."

Customer acquisition is key

Zimmermann's intention to expand in the Chinese market is obvious, but the challenges of expansion are also difficult to ignore. The first thing to face is the pressure from local Chinese designers. China's independent fashion designer brands have caught up with the golden age of rapid development in the past decade. According to McKinsey data, the proportion of Chinese consumers who prefer to buy local brands has increased from 15% in 2011 to 85% in 2020. According to the "2023 China Independent Fashion Designer Brand Industry Market Size Analysis" report, in 2023, the market size of China's independent fashion designer brand industry will reach 370 billion yuan, compared with the market size of 89 billion yuan in 2018, an increase of 315.5%.

Zhang Peiying believes that Chinese local designer brands are strong competitors of Zimmermann. Although they have differences in customer positioning, they are still on the same track. In addition, there are also dislocations and complementarities between Zimmermann and many international brands and fast fashion brands, which can be both opportunities and challenges. "The future development of the brand depends on how to position itself, including marketing methods and customer service, whether it can quickly integrate into the Chinese market. It should combine Australian characteristics with Chinese local culture, grasp the needs of Chinese consumers, and do a good job of localization."

But the challenges facing Zimmermann are not limited to this. Zhou Ting believes that "it is easier to provide personalized services such as customization offline, so designer brands generally open offline stores, but how to attract customers for offline stores and how to attract customers online are common problems faced by Zimmermann and others. Whether the customer acquisition problem can be solved is the key to the success of designer brands' store openings."

Zhou Ting further pointed out that "designer brands generally do not have the marketing capabilities of big brands. If they want to break through, they need to stand out through various planning and event marketing, and ensure the uniqueness of product design and the high-end brand tone."

Beijing Business Daily reporter Lin Yuwei